Golf Course with the Dogs

 

Here are some more pictures of skate skiing with the dogs.  Except rather than having to climb high into the mountains there is now enough snow to go skiing at the golf course.  Barely.  There is not enough snow for classic cross country skiing.  But it is rocket ship fast conditions if you like to skate ski. 

On Tuesday it was too windy and icy on high to bother with downhill skiing and so Stuey and I took the dogs to the golf course.  It is super convenient to have skiing so close to home.  And skate skiing when it is so fast is Way WAY more exciting than downhill skiing.  You go just as fast but have far less control.  And the dogs love it too.

Patrick

Crab for Dinner

 

I love tanner crab season.  Every year after the crab opening Kodiak is awash in crab for a few weeks.  This year I got given a few crabs and cooked them up and then bought more at the dock.  Of course they were all alive and Mike and I had to clean and cook them.  This is quite the process and way more difficult than cooking lobsters.

The second batch was a lot of crab and I picked crab for a couple of hours.  Then for the next couple of days I had crab salads.  Crab, romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, yellow pepper, and a balsamic vinaigrette.  It never gets old.  Nothing like a big bowl of crab meat in the fridge.

Patrick

Crust Cruise Views

 

I took the dogs cross country skiing Saturday.  I got tired of the icy downhill conditions on Pyramid and decided to try the crust on the plateau above the ski chalet.  And it was excellent crust cruising on skate skis.  I wish I'd gone earlier in the week instead of getting brutalized on the ice on Pyramid.

It was fairly smooth and there was just enough texture to give the skis a bit of control.  I cruised around with the dogs chasing.  I always wonder what they think when I am suddenly faster than them.  They are used to me plodding on behind them on walks and then suddenly I am zipping all over the place just like they ordinarily do.

Anyway, it was a spectacular view and as always there was a good view of Pyramid.  Pyramid is a big mountain.

Patrick

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This one is actually from a different trip but that flat area in the distance on the left is where I went XC skiing

Close ups

 

This past week on dog walks I focused on stuff up close.  The top picture is of a big ball of washed up bull kelp on the high tide line.  The logs on the beach were super slippery and covered with thousands of little ice needles.  It had been misty and freezing fog and I think that created the needles rather the usual frost crystals.  The needles on the logs almost looked like hair.  But super slippery!  Even the beach rocks were slick with frost.

I've taken thousands of pictures of the tree trunks in Abercrombie and it never seems to get old.  The trunks are part of my usual photography fare while on walks.  And I must admit I am bored with most of the grand Abercrombie views.  I have taken pictures of all the views and big stuff.  But looking close opens up a whole new world.  

Patrick

Frosty logs on the beach at Abercrombie

dead alder bud

budding alder

Tiny pebble with a lips sticker on it that someone tucked in a crevice

Looking for Smooth Crust

 

Earlier in the week it was warm and the snow on the mountain was slushy.  You'd ski down and leave deep ruts in the corn snow.  It was good skiing.  Then it froze hard.  And all those tracks became fossilized ski track ruts.  On high there is still some frost and a light dusting of snow on the crust - so it is 'carvable' conditions.  It is also mostly smooth.

But down low it is a rutty frozen mess.  The trick is to find smooth places where nobody skied and left behind ruts.  Bouncing over the bumpy snow makes your feet hurt.  So I've been skiing down on the way north side of things.  And I have found a way down that is all smooth sailing.  It's icy but you can slide slip without getting the aching feet.

It's also been beautiful.  Lately I've been going late in the day after first taking the dogs for a walk.  So by the time I quit the sun is setting.  Pink and gold light and alpine glow.

Patrick

Stuey and his friend did some jumps earlier in the week when there was softer snow.  While I went on to the top they made a jump in the jibber bowl and did multiple laps on it. later in the week their frozen jump was a hazard to navigation.

Sunday Beach Walk

 

Last weekend the kids, dogs and I joined Uncle Dicky for a beach walk in Womens Bay.  We hiked around Bruhn Point to an old barge that is moldering away on the beach.  It was low tide and near Bruhn Point we waded out into the water on the tide flats and it looked like we were walking on water. We ended up climbing up on top of the old barge and checking out the graffiti.  Once on top it was a lot higher than it looks!

Anyway, while hiking I was amazed at the number of other people we saw hiking on the beach with their dogs.  I thought we'd have it to ourselves.  When I go on beach walks I usually go to Buskin Beach, White Sands or Spruce Cape - places closer to town.  Then I realized that this is the place where people who live in Bells Flats hike.  They probably go here instead of say Abercrombie. 

It was fun to do something totally different.  

Patrick

Inversion

 

The last few days have been pretty foggy down in town.  Planes to and from Kodiak have been cancelled and it's been pretty dreary - driving along with the headlights and using the wipers every once in a while to clear the mist off the windshield.  But above the fog it has mostly been sunny or not foggy anyway.

On Saturday when I went skiing it was just above freezing at my house and you could not see 100 yards.  Even the Pyramid parking lot was socked in. But when I climbed up the mountain at just about 1200 feet it cleared off and got warm.  The higher I went the warmer it got, and the softer the snow.  

Since it had been freezing overnight at my house I expected ice on high.  I was shocked to find spring skiing conditions and tee shirt weather.  This is a classic example of a temperature inversion.  Cold and foggy in the valley and warm and sunny on high.  Overnight it was warmer on Pyramid than it was at my house by the sea.  

When I skied down I went into the fog and it was like skiing into a wall of cold air.  And the snow got icy!

 

Patrick